


Christmas Tree

by wholocker78218



Series: 25 Days of Christmas [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Christmas, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27868141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholocker78218/pseuds/wholocker78218
Summary: Prompt: "[AU] where olivia, barba and noah are putting the christmas tree up and she tells them that she’s pregnant ?”
Relationships: Rafael Barba & Noah Porter Benson, Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Series: 25 Days of Christmas [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036830
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Requests are open for the next 22 days, I write for Barson, Bangan, Barisi and potentially other Rafael Barba ships (even other Raúl Esparza characters too), just talk to me on asks or private messages.
> 
> @angelicdestieldemon

Rafael woke to a toddler jumping up and down on his chest, his breath coming out in one harsh huff, he wraps his hands around the child to lift him and place Noah on his side of the bed to try and not wake up Liv.

“Mijo? Why are you up?” Rafael checks the clock on the bedside table almost crying at the time; 1:53 am, he’d only gone to sleep an hour ago after finally finishing his paperwork. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Noah shakes his head, a sleepy smile on his otherwise excited expression. Rafael checks his pyjamas to make sure the boy hadn’t wet the bed, but they’re dry.

“It’s the first of December, mama said we could get the Christmas Tree when it was December,” the boy elaborates, Rafael can’t help but smile at the boy, the childish glee of Christmas could warm even the coldest of hearts.

“Mijo, I think she meant during the day, not this early in the morning, how about you go back to bed and when you wake up in the morning- later in the morning, we can talk about getting a tree, ok?” Rafael whispers, trying to not wake Liv.

Noah thinks it over, his head tipping to the side, reminding Rafael of a confused puppy, “Ok, Rafa, but on one cond- condish-”

“Condition?” Rafael guesses.

“Yeah! On one condition,” Noah still struggles with the pronunciation, but Rafael is impressed the toddler was able to understand how to use it. “Can you tuck me back in? I can never do it right.”

Rafael feels that warmth in his chest again and holds the boy to his chest as he gets out of the bed as quietly as possible and carries Noah back to the toddler’s room. Peeling back the covers on the toddler’s bed and lays the boy down, Noah’s arms lock around his neck, keeping him bent over.

“Mijo, I’m not nearly as young as I used to be and my back cannot stay in this position for long,” he grumbles, his tone remains soft though.

“You’re warm, my bed is cold,” Noah says, and Rafael groans internally, he is not awake enough yet, wishing to just go back to his bed, and wrap himself around Liv, she’d be warm and soft and just the thought of it makes him sigh with happiness at how lucky he is.

“Do you want a hot water bottle, to heat up the bed?” He asks, and Noah nods, using strength only toddlers have to wrap his legs around Rafael’s waist.

Rafael stands back up, his back protesting slightly, but there’s no lasting ache a couple of hours of sleep can’t fix. Wrapping a supportive arm around the boy, he walks through to the kitchen, flicking the kettle on to boil, moving to the living room to get the hot water bottle from the basket Liv left it in the last time she got cramps, her last few must not have been as bad as she hasn’t had cravings or cramps for a while. As he’s waiting for the kettle to finish boiling, he remembers lying on the couch with Liv, his back against the armrest, Liv lying on his chest between his legs, hot water bottle on her lower stomach, they were sipping hot chocolate, Liv had been craving it. Noah had been in his bed. Rafael can’t remember the movie they were watching; he was too focused on how at peace he had felt. At that moment nothing else mattered, he had the woman he loved in his arms, their son sleeping safe and sound down the hall.

The memory brings a smile to his lips, he holds Noah tighter, laying a kiss in the boy’s curls, whose head was now resting on his shoulder, clearly, the energy the boy had when he first woke up was waning. Once the kettle clicks, he pours the boiling water into the bottle, making sure it’s sealed tightly, before grabbing the elephant water bottle cover out of ‘Noah’s drawer’ and placing the hot water bottle inside it to stop Noah getting burned while it’s still hot.

He carries Noah back through to the boy’s bedroom, laying the toddler down, this time he goes easily and gives him the hot water bottle to cuddle, Rafael tucks him back in and kisses him on the forehead, the boy’s already fast asleep, cuddled around the elephant.

“See you in the morning, mijo,” he whispers before leaving the room, closing the door almost all the way before heading back to his bedroom, climbing in beside Liv. Before he can do anything, she reaches behind her, grabbing his arm and pulling it around her, he goes with it easily, pressing himself against her back, tucking his head into the back of her neck.

“Is he okay?” he hears her mumble, and he nods, flattening his hand on her belly to close any gap between them, he lets out a long sigh, happy to be back in her warmth.

“Just excited about getting a Christmas tree.”

Liv snorts a laugh, “I forgot about that, I was going to warn you he might be a little excited tonight. I advise getting some sleep, he is going to run us ragged tomorrow.” She wiggles back into his chest, making him groan and hold her still against him.

“That is not helping,” he growls, and he can feel her shake against him.

“Down boy,” she laughs before placing her hand over his and relaxing.

Following her lead, he relaxes into her and is asleep in minutes.

* * *

Olivia wakes with the sun in her eyes, a crack in the curtains shining directly over her face from where her head is resting on Rafael’s firm chest. Looking up she checks to see if he too is awake, but his face is turned away from the sun and his expression is calm, the lines usually around his eyes and forehead smoothed out in deep sleep. Resting her head back on his chest, Olivia relaxes into his embrace. He must have taken off his shirt in the middle of the night as his chest is bare, and she can’t help but scratch her nails along the soft skin of his belly, leaving little pale lines in their wake, she smiles at how sensitive his skin is.

“What is your obsession with my stomach?” She hears him grumble, his chest moving beneath her, and she grins, placing a kiss on his collar bone before lifting herself to straddle his hips, her hands smoothing along the skin of his stomach.

His eyes squint up at her, a lazy smile pulling at his mouth as he appreciates the view before him. Her smile is carefree, her hair tousled and framing her face in a way that should be impossible in the morning. God, she’s perfect he thinks, wondering what the hell he did in a previous life to deserve this, to deserve Olivia Benson, to deserve Noah. To have a family.

“I like your stomach, it’s soft and warm, and cuddly, I know you're self-conscious about it, but it doesn’t make you any less attractive, especially to me,” his cheeks pinken a little and he takes her hands in his and pulls her down over him.

Liv closes the gap and kisses him; she feels his arms surround her before she’s flipped onto her back and he settles between her legs. The beard he’s been growing rubs against her skin in the best way.

“Mama! Rafa! Is it time to get the Christmas tree yet?” Noah barges into the room and they separate Rafael hiding his head in her neck, laughing softly.

“Breakfast first, sweet boy, you know the rules,” Liv replies.

“Fine, when you’re done cuddling, I’ll be out here going hungry,” Noah shouts from the living room.

Rafael and Olivia both let out a shocked laugh, “He’s sounding more like you every day.” Liv laughs, and when Rafael pulls away from her neck, she can see the joy in his eyes at her words. “You’re a good dad, Rafa.”

The effect that word had on him is visible, his eyes water, and his smile wobbles, but it doesn’t scare her, she knows what he’s feeling, she can read him like a book. He’s not scared of being a dad, he’s scared of being a bad one, and she knows that the idea is ridiculous. He never could be, and he knows that he just needs to be reassured every now and then. So, she kisses him again before pushing him over onto his back.

“Come on, our son wants us, so you feed him, and I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she says kissing him once more before pushing him out the bed.

He pulls on his t-shirt from the night before and turns back to her.

“Everything ok?” Rafael asks a brief look in her eyes he doesn’t recognise.

“Stop worrying, Rafa, I just need to go to the bathroom, now go be a dad.”

Once he’s gone, she waits until she hears him speaking to Noah before grabbing three boxes out her bag and heading to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Laying them out on the counter she takes a deep breath before opening up the first one and reading the instructions, it has been a long time since she last had to do this. At her age, she didn’t think it was even possible. She takes another breath before deciding to just get it over with. She takes the tests and then waits, it feels like years, the timer on her phone mocking her with every passing second. A few seconds before its due to go off she turns it off, not wanting Rafael to hear it and ask questions. She knows she’ll have to tell him no matter what the tests say but after all this time thinking she can’t get pregnant; she needs some time to process it before involving anyone else.

Olivia picks up the tests, one more breath, one more moment. And then she looks.

Positive.

Positive.

Positive.

She’s pregnant.

After all this time she pregnant, with Rafael Barba’s baby. And then she’s crying, tears of joy streaming down her face. She’s pregnant with the child of a man she loves, at Christmas. Olivia takes a few more minutes to let the feeling sink in, to go through her thoughts before wrapping the tests in a towel and splashing cold water on her face. She leaves the bathroom, hiding the towel in her gym bag and goes out to see Noah happily making his way through smiley face pancakes, a Barba speciality. She sees her own plate, syrup sitting by her plate alongside a bowl of berries, and she loves Rafael more, he knows her so well.

“So, I believe we have some plans for today,” she says, taking a seat at the counter, Rafael turning off the stove and sitting next to her with his own plate of pancakes, his hand on her thigh soothing her thoughts, the grin on his face making her smile, she’s having his baby and she couldn’t be happier.

* * *

Hours later, many debates on how big the tree should be, what decorations they should buy and how much tinsel is too much tinsel, the tree is in the corner waiting to be decorated.

If it had been up to Olivia the tree would be decorated with white ornaments, but she has a child and therefore they have decorations of every colour, Rafael helping Noah pick out every colour of the rainbow making their son happy.

She watches while they work, offering the occasional hand when Noah wanted tinsel on the top branches of the tree, it takes them a while, but she loves every moment of it. Watching them together, father and son, Noah hasn’t called him dad yet, but she can see it coming, half the time he goes to Rafael first, asking questions he used to ask her, she thought it might hurt a little having to share her son, but if anything, she feels happier than ever. Noah loves Rafael as much as she does and when that day comes, when Rafael becomes daddy or Papi, she knows she’s going to weep with joy. And she knows for a fact he will too.

Rafael helps Noah put the last few ornaments on the tree, things he’d made with Lucy and then there’s one last thing to do, something Olivia always did with Noah: putting the star on the top of the tree. Noah takes the star to Rafael, but he shakes his head.

“Mama always helps you put the star on the tree, mijo, I’ll help you next year ok?’ He nods his head over to Liv.

Olivia smiles at him, lifting Noah into her arms, helping him finish the tree, she places him back on his feet and he stares up at the tree, a smile stretching across his face. Rafael’s arms wrap around her waist from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder.

“Next year?” She teases, he lifts his head and turns her to face him, large hands on her hips, holding them together.

“Mi Amor, I’m not going anywhere,” he grins, the lights on the tree lighting up his eyes so they sparkle, and she can’t help herself.

“I think both of us will have our arms full next year,” she says, and she sees the confusion on his face. “How do you feel about being a father of two?” As hard as she tries, Olivia can’t bring herself to look him in the eyes, she hears Noah talking but she can’t focus on what he’s saying, all she can hear is Rafael’s silence.

“You’re pregnant?” She nods and finds the courage to look up at him and he’s smiling. “Are you ok? I mean, I know the older you are the more dangerous it can be. I want this, I’m happy, I’m really, really happy, but I don’t want to lose you, _we_ can’t lose you.” Now he looks panicked.

Liv brings her hand up to his beard covered cheeks, “I’ve made an appointment with my doctor, she says I’m in good health for my age and when I go to see her, she’ll make sure everything’s fine and then we’ll go from there. We’ll cross those bridges when we get to them,” she pauses then at the relief that takes over his expression. “Are you sure you’re happy with this, I didn’t plan it I swear, I didn’t think this was even possible-” Before she can ramble on it's his turn to soothe her.

“I couldn’t be happier, our son is happy and safe, and he’s going to have sibling, I love you, Olivia Benson. I have you, Noah and our baby, I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate everyone who reads my work even if you dont leave kudos or comments I appreciate you taking the time. Have a wonderful Christmas however you celebrate (or don't celebrate)!


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